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Eyewear's Best of British List

In honour of my becoming British here is a list of The Best of British things that spring to mind, mainly contemporary aspects of Britishness, in terms of pop culture, poetry, and politics, that make me proud to be(come) British.

I know that Britishness is a fraught and complex term and concept, and I also know that Britain has some darker sides (Thatcher, Iraq, colonialism, Cromwell, etc), but there is enough that's been excellent, wonderful and positive, that has been shared with the world. Some of these things may not be "only" British - or more Welsh, Scottish, or English - but for now, Britain is a real place, with many aspects, that I love. Here are a clutch of them, in almost alphabetical order...

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The shortlist was selected by Eyewear’s Director Todd Swift with Senior Editor Kelly Davio. Don Share of Poetry Magazine will select the winning manuscript, which will be released at the 2017 AWP conference in Washington, D.C. The winner will be announced in October. Congratulations to our finalists!